Children

Cough, cough, cough. I've gone off on a tangent again. Let's get back to the point.

Senior Brother Lu Yu had two children at the Foundation Establishment stage. One was a daughter named Lu Xing, born to a maid who had been brought in as a second wife. She was gentle, considerate, and generous, much like her father. Everyone in the family and throughout Bamboo Mountain, from top to bottom, got along well with her.

The other was a son named Lu Qi. His mother was a songstress who lived in the outer courtyard. He was hardworking and diligent in his cultivation. He also often took on assignments for the Outer Sect, doing work for the sect to help support the family. He had made friends with quite a few rogue cultivators as well. Though the Lu Family had supported him since he was young, he was a promising young man who refused to take their money for nothing, and instead volunteered to work for the family's workshops and businesses. His relatives thought well of him, too.

Both had reached Foundation Establishment at sixteen. They were bright and talented, and had learned some of the Lu Family's traditions and Ink Bamboo Mountain's escape techniques. They were registered disciples of the Outer Sect, received personal guidance from Lu Yu, and had a Golden Core cultivator to protect them. They had plenty of spells and treasures, too. There hadn't been much conflict within the family before. After all, Lu Xing had made good progress in her cultivation and rarely stayed at the family estate anymore, while Lu Qi wouldn't visit at all.

But then Lu Yu was suddenly murdered, and his principal wife didn't tell Lu Qi. Instead, she planned to hand over the position of head of the Lu Family to Lu Xing temporarily, in secret.

Lu Qi was still cultivating outside the mountain when he heard from a fellow disciple that his father had been murdered. He didn't return until the seventh-day memorial. When he learned that his birth mother had come to offer incense, but his father's principal wife had stopped her and wouldn't even let her through the door, he flew into a rage and was about to make a scene in the mourning hall.

Lu Xing was just as furious. She was overseeing the seventh-day memorial and wanted to make sure everything went smoothly. But when she stepped in to stop Lu Qi from causing trouble, the two compared notes face-to-face and realized that the principal wife had pulled a fast one on her, too.

It turned out that besides the position of family head and the Lu Family's businesses, there was also some sort of family heirloom that could only be passed down to men: the legacy of Heavenly Craft Mechanisms. The principal wife hadn't told her a word about it. Clearly, she had only meant to use this daughter born of a concubine as a shield. Lu Xing turned on her, too.

That wasn't even the most awkward part. The most awkward part was that Lu Yu actually had a legitimate eldest son born to his principal wife: Lu Qi.

Well, it was no wonder the Lu Family's principal wife had gone too far. The family's property and legacy were supposed to be inherited by that eldest legitimate son.

But the fellow was useless. Despite having generations of inheritance from a cultivation family, and Five Immortals Soup from the Lou Guandao Pagoda only ten li away, he still hadn't managed to reach Foundation Establishment. He was still at Qi Refining. Can you believe it?

Well, there was no reason not to believe it. Li Fan could understand, at least. The guy hadn't had his fill of fun yet...

It really had nothing to do with his talent. This second-generation immortal, Lu Qi, was simply a spoiled playboy, spending his days in pleasure boats and wine houses, surrounded by song and dance, seeking every kind of pleasure. He just couldn't be bothered to hurry! He just wanted to have fun!

Anyway, in this day and age, especially for scions of powerful families, reaching Foundation Establishment was easy. Lu Qi knew that he'd age more slowly after he reached Foundation Establishment, so he deliberately put it off for a few years. Now in his twenties, he was tall, handsome, and charming. He'd done it to make it easier to get physical with all those pretty young women, and to enjoy himself in the mortal world.

On top of that, he had a Golden Core father to protect him, and could rely on his mother's family's influence in Li Country. He'd gone to Changsi City, the capital of Li Country, to become one of the Four Young Masters. Now his father had been murdered, and the family couldn't even get in touch with him. He still hadn't come back. Who knew which elegant courtyard he was hiding in, drinking wine with courtesans? No one could even find him. There was nothing to say.

And yet his birth mother still planned to conceal the Lu Family's legacy in secret, waiting for her precious son to hurry back, reach Foundation Establishment, and inherit it.

But the Lu Family was a cultivation family with generations of accumulated tradition and an enormous estate. They had two Foundation Establishment disciples who were far more driven, and already had some cultivation skills and connections to their names. Rather than support them, they were supposed to support a second-generation wastrel who was still at Qi Refining? Who did that help?

The relatives gathered in the mourning hall were unhappy, too. They began shouting and arguing. In the end, one group backed Lu Xing, another backed Lu Qi, and the dispute became so heated that no one would give an inch. With their father freshly dead, emotions were already running high. Lu Qi, who had grown up facing scorn and enduring grievance after grievance, actually called for a sword duel. Lu Xing was gentle on the outside but strong-willed within. She had suffered enough, and now that she had the chance to rise above her station, she wasn't about to let go. She gritted her teeth and accepted.

Senior Brother Gao had been chattering away about all this gossip. Li Fan and Yuan Xuanbao were both left at a loss for words.

What could you say? Weren't all wealthy clans like this? That was simply how things were these days. What else could you expect? A daughter born of a concubine or an illegitimate son making a comeback was a rare occurrence. Who would have thought the Lu Family would get two at once? They'd drawn a double-yolk egg. You couldn't tell whether to call that good luck or bad...

And it wasn't all the principal wife's fault, either. Just look at the names Senior Brother Lu had given his children. Qi meant fine jade; Qi meant gravel; Xing meant water plants. Could anyone looking at those names not get the message about how he felt?

Still, Senior Brother Lu probably didn't trust his legitimate son's ways, so he'd raised two talented children born of concubines to protect him. He'd also taken extra care of promising juniors like Xuanbao, Daotong, and Qingyue, building up connections for that second-generation wastrel of a son.

He just hadn't expected to die so suddenly. The plans that had seemed foolproof all went off the rails. It was enough to make one sigh...

"Brother Xuanbao, which side are you going to support?" Li Fan glanced down at the Lu Family members, who were already planting flags in the courtyard—cough, quite literally planting flags. They were setting up a ring of talisman flags to mark off a dueling ground, lest stray Sword Lights and escape techniques go flying around and damage the plants.

"Well... I've heard things about both of Senior Brother Lu's children," Yuan Xuanbao said, looking conflicted. "Lu Xing is clever and dexterous. Though she's still practicing metalworking in the marketplace, she's well liked, and she might even catch Master Du Gongshi's eye one day. She has a bright future ahead of her. But she's strong-willed, and probably won't let being a woman stop her from learning the Lu Family's inherited mechanical arts.

"Lu Qi is a rare talent, too. It's unusual these days to find someone willing to train honestly and steadily temper his body. If he joined my master's school, he could learn a set of the Body Domination Technique. With his drive and refusal to be outdone, reaching Golden Core someday wouldn't be difficult. But he's truly been enraged this time, and I'm afraid he won't let this go peacefully.

"And... I've heard of Lu Qi, too. He may not be nothing but a pleasure-seeker. The Four Young Masters actually have a decent reputation. Someone like him, who knows how to make friends, might be better suited to the position of head of a great clan like the Lu Family. Senior Brother Lu's family values don't seem like the sort that would spoil a legitimate son, either..."

So either side would be fine, then. Wasn't that the same as saying nothing at all?

Senior Brother Gao shook his head repeatedly beside them. "Senior Brother Lu dies, and the Lu Family immediately tears itself apart like this. What will they do if their enemies come knocking? How will they unite and protect themselves? Sigh. I suppose even an ancient immortal clan like the Lu Family can't escape decline."

The dueling ground below had been set up. Lu Xing and Lu Qi entered and stood on opposite sides of the courtyard in front of the mourning hall, one to the east and one to the west. They both wore black ritual robes beneath their mourning clothes. They didn't seem to mind all the cultivators watching from outside. It looked as if they wanted to decide the next head of the Lu Family openly, before everyone's eyes.

It was a little childish. Li Fan rubbed his chin and studied the two young people below, who seemed to think they could defy fate with this one battle.

Their relatives had completely talked them into it. Whoever won, they were still children born of concubines. No matter how talented or hardworking they were, how were they supposed to make use of the resources held by the Lu Family's branches and side households? Some random manager might dare to deceive them. But this was the Lu Family's business, after all. Outsiders really shouldn't get involved.

When the two stepped before the crowd, their faces looked like Senior Brother Lu's had been stamped onto theirs. Their features were at least seventy or eighty percent alike. Lu Xing's features were softer, and her fair, slender figure gave her a gentle air. But there was a spirit of courage in her bones; she wasn't a timid girl who meekly bowed to everything. Lu Qi was taller and thinner, with a darker complexion, probably from spending so much time out in the wind and sun. His eyes were sharp, and he had the stubbornness of a young calf that feared no tiger.

At least they both knew that fighting at a time like this was already a breach of propriety. If blood were shed, the Lu Family would lose face. So the family didn't call it a proper duel. The two came out with wooden swords, and the explanation they gave their guests was that they were performing a sword dance to send their father off.

Everyone could just pretend to believe that they were dancing with swords to bid him farewell.

It was clear enough that the two young people had been worked into a fury. Their grief and indignation didn't seem fake, either. Children born of concubines had no rights in this day and age. For them to have reached Foundation Establishment, Senior Brother Lu must have taught them with great care. Both had red-rimmed eyes, as if they were releasing years of pent-up feelings. They saluted each other, then immediately began to fight.

But they were so weak...

Li Fan wasn't being snide. He was just stating a fact.

Put kindly, their sword dance was pretty good. It even looked nice when they moved in time with the music. Put bluntly, they used too many feints.

They leaped and bounded around, even flipping through the air three and a half times. One did a flourish with his sword, the other answered with a windmill spin. It looked less like a deadly sword technique and more like a martial arts movie. The moves were quite entertaining to watch. At first, Li Fan had been a little worried, but now it seemed that the loser would at worst end up with disheveled hair, a bruised face, and wounded pride. Wooden swords couldn't actually kill anyone, could they?

But then again, at this level, if they ran into the things Li Fan had faced before, even that demonic cultivator aside, the fake Sword Control Technique of the fake big-bearded man would be more efficient at killing people than these flashy tricks.

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent commented: Bamboo Mountain's swordsmanship is trash. But this isn't a sword art for fighting and killing. It's a daily practice to stretch the muscles and improve coordination. It's no good for body tempering at all—far worse than the Body Domination Technique.

Li Fan thought it over. Yuan Xuanbao was watching the two juniors duel with an expressionless face, so Li Fan went over and asked, "Brother Xuanbao, what do you think of their moves?"

Yuan Xuanbao shrugged and offered a casual assessment. "So-so. They've only been at Foundation Establishment for two or three years. For external training, they're not bad."

"How would they compare with martial artists from the jianghu? And at this level... if they trained until they reached your level, Brother Xuanbao, could they beat those Armored Soldiers in the mountain patrol?"

Yuan Xuanbao shot Li Fan a sidelong glance. "You're still thinking about what happened at the inn? Planning to take revenge on that eunuch yourself? How old are you? How long have you been cultivating? You've never trained in martial arts before, have you? What escape techniques or sword arts can you use? How many times can you wield a breath of Dao Breath?"

Li Fan shrugged. Wasn't it just that some people, somewhere out there, expected him to save the world right now? As if failing to go out and uphold world peace made him a hypocritical do-gooder.

Yuan Xuanbao glanced at him. "Qingyue, don't blame me for being blunt. But surviving the vicious corpse was already a stroke of fortune. Killing that Golden Core cultivator was an even greater stroke of luck. You need to know that even we Foundation Establishment cultivators, though stronger and faster than ordinary martial artists, are still made of mortal flesh and blood. We can't stop blades. If you really want to fight an enemy at this stage, you'd be better off getting a heavy crossbow and wearing a suit of lamellar armor. Those are far more practical than any magical treasure.

"Take my advice. Wait until you reach Golden Core and forge a golden body. Raise a flying sword of a proper grade, then think about roaming the jianghu and avenging yourself."

The Profound Heaven Sword Intent commented: This kid is right. Host, don't take the long way around. Go into seclusion first! Stay there for seventeen or eighteen years, reach Golden Core with the Five Ghosts Divine Treasury, then we'll go to Lei Marsh and open a few cases of flying swords to practice with. That sword pill last time was actually pretty good. It could've joined my collection. Too bad that little punk got away.

So, the usual "I'll come out once my divine arts are complete and kill you all!" routine?

The reasoning did make sense. Wait until you're maxed out before going out to get yourself killed—cough, before settling your debts.

But the problem was that, in Taiji Xian Dao cultivation, the bottleneck between Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment was material. With enough spiritual qi and a few Five Elements Treasures, you could reach Foundation Establishment one way or another.

But the bottleneck between Foundation Establishment and Golden Core wasn't just about the quality of your qi. Talent mattered, too.

In purely theoretical terms, you first had to refine the true qi in your Qi Sea into liquid spiritual essence, then condense that essence into a Golden Core.

In Li Fan's case, the first stage only required him to cultivate the Five Elements Sword Ghosts and have a sufficient supply of spiritual qi. If he kept tempering himself, or practiced Moon Worship, he'd probably be able to refine the spiritual essence. The stage when one had refined the essence and infused it into oneself, but hadn't yet forged a Golden Core, was called Foundation Establishment Perfection.

The second stage was breaking through the realm. The process of condensing spiritual essence into a Golden Core was more mysterious, and required a certain level of comprehension and patience. Many people never managed to break through in their entire lives. Even for someone with Li Fan's talent, the Profound Heaven Sword Intent had conservatively estimated he'd need seventeen or eighteen years in seclusion.

After all, the people he'd met so far—Fuling, Chen Daotong, and Yuan Xuanbao—were all stuck at Foundation Establishment Perfection.

"Hold your sword!"

What? What was happening now?

Li Fan had been lost in thought, working out the cultivation path for Foundation Establishment. When he came back to himself, Yuan Xuanbao had already rushed out and flung that strange iron hand. But the thing he caught wasn't a sword at all. It was Lu Qi. The iron hand seized the collar of the concubine-born son's robe and yanked him out of the dueling ground.

He wasn't the only one. Several of the rogue cultivators in the crowd, including Senior Brother Gao, had also intervened. They weren't taking sides or breaking up the duel unfairly; they'd simply been watching with complete concentration.

Lu Xing had been driven back and disarmed, her wooden sword knocked flying as she stumbled sideways. Lu Qi chased after her, seemingly intending to finish her with a thrust to the throat. Quite a few people immediately rushed in, not wanting things to go too far.

Who could have guessed that Lu Xing had deliberately left an opening? She snapped her right wrist, and a volley of hidden darts shot from a mechanism concealed in her forearm. Fine as ox hairs and packed together like iron feathers, they nearly turned Lu Qi into a sieve as he leaped into the air, unable to dodge in time.

Fortunately, quite a few people had rushed over. One pulled him aside, another blocked the darts. Otherwise, someone really would have died.

Wow... So a crossbow and armor really were the most practical after all! And hadn't everyone agreed not to get involved?

Li Fan pulled out a large roll of black thread. It had become part of his standard kit by now. He rushed after the others to check Lu Qi's injuries.

The young man had taken a few darts, but none had hit a vital spot, so he wasn't in serious danger. Still, the hidden weapons had left him covered in dust, with his hair all over the place. He looked utterly shattered and shouted in disbelief.

"You! You actually cut off your own arm to modify it into a mechanism!"

Oh, right...

Li Fan turned to look. In the crowd, Lu Xing's right hand had split into eight sections, opening like layers of lotus petals. Copper wires and silver threads ran along the bone-like inner walls, and two spool-shaped coils spun rapidly, reeling in thread and needles. It was even reusable...

The Lu Family relatives around them looked horrified, too. Even if the family had inherited the Heavenly Craft tradition, how many people would be willing to make such alterations to themselves?

"I made this lotus arm! You saw it, didn't you, Father? Even in a bed of weeds, a golden lotus can bloom!" Lu Xing held her head high, utterly unconcerned by the way the people around her stared as if she were a monster. She flung her right arm toward the mourning hall and unfolded the entire mechanism. The jade plates shaped like lotus petals, the dart tips shaped like lotus seeds, and the finely crafted thread pulleys all gleamed in the sunlight, sparkling with golden light.

Lu Qi bit his lip. Along with everyone else, he stared at the sister he seemed to have seen properly for the first time. Then he suddenly leaped up, fell to his knees, and slammed his forehead against the ground three times in front of the mourning hall. He pushed through the crowd and ran off.

Li Fan had wanted to stitch up his wounds and get some practice, but all he could do now was shrug and let the young man go. Perhaps after losing like this, he'd realize that there were some things in this world he couldn't obtain just by working hard, and grow up a little.

As for the other one...

He turned around and, together with the colleagues who had known Senior Brother Lu over the years, looked toward the mourning hall. There stood the young woman, tall and unbowed, blooming like a green lotus in a storm, fearless of wind and rain.

"New rain fills the green lotus leaves; a touch of red fragrance drifts on the clear breeze... Senior Brother Lu raised his children well..."